A Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) is a smart card inserted into a terminal and used as a user authentication module. The UICC may store personal information on a user and information on a mobile network operator of a mobile service subscribed by the user. For example, the UICC may include an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) to identify a user. The UICC may also be referred to as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and as a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) in the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA).
When the user installs the UICC in a user terminal, user authentication is automatically achieved using the information stored in the UICC, enabling the user to conveniently use the terminal. Further, when the terminal is replaced, the user may installs the UICC detached from the terminal on a new terminal, thereby conveniently changing the terminal.
A terminal required to be small-sized, for example, a terminal for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, is difficult to make small when manufactured in a UICC detachable structure. Thus, an embedded UICC (eUICC) that is not detachable is introduced. The eUICC records information on the user using the UICC in an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) form.
A conventional UICC is detachable from a terminal, and thus a user may open the terminal regardless of a terminal type or a mobile carrier. However, an IMSI may be allocated to an eUICC on the premise that the terminal is available under a particular mobile network operator (MNO) from when manufactured. Thus, both MNOs and M2M terminal makers to sell terminals cannot but pay close attention to goods in stock and a rise in product price may occur. Also, users may undergo inconvenience of not allowing a change of MNOs for terminals. Thus, users require a method of opening a terminal regardless of mobile carriers even for an eUICC.
Meanwhile, recent introduction of an eUICC brings a need to update information on subscribers to a plurality of mobile carriers to the UICC remotely, and accordingly a subscription manager (SM) or profile manager (PM) for managing information on subscribers is discussed.
However, due to a physical difference from a conventional detachable SIM, the eSIM environment involves management of SIM data in a software form, and accordingly methods based on GlobalPlatform technology are currently under discussions. However, an MNO may need to lead providing eSIM based services, instead of a third party, due to issues about ownership of keys and initiative in eSIM based business (communications and optional services) on GlobalPlatform, but no concrete measures have been found yet.